Main menu

Tag Archives: fall

Post navigation

Recently we’ve been really into going out to brunch over here! We so hip. Just kidding. Although on Sunday I was having dinner with friends and started talking about brunch places and realized I sounded more “I think I’m so cultured” than most pre-teens on Instagram. Whoops. I really don’t know anything about what makes one restaurant better than another, other than my personal experiences there, but let me tell you that Corbeaux Bakehouse on 17th Ave is SERIOUSLY taking the cake these days.

We headed over to Corbeaux for the first time for brunch a couple weekends ago and it was all kinds of incredible. The decor (hello white brick walls paired with golden lighting), the food (that whipped ricotta tho), the dishes (robin egg blue everything, please)… everything had me smitten. The company wasn’t all that bad either;) I ordered the French toast and Tim had the eggs Benedict and both have us tempted to return again very soon.

The whole point of our day was actually to spend the afternoon at the Millarville Christmas Market. But after reading real-time posts on Facebook of the 45-minute long drive up line people were still waiting in (what is this madness?!) we decided to scratch that and instead head over to the less-exciting Okotoks Christmas Festival. One way or another I was going to a Christmas market that day. Unfortunately the Okotoks market was the definition of uneventful and I kind of wish we would’ve just strolled around 17th Ave for the remainder of the afternoon? You win some (Corbeaux), you lose some (the most boring Christmas market ever). Either way I’m pretty sure Corbeaux will slowly but surely become “our place”; I can’t wait to go back!

Near the end of September one of mine and Tim’s dearest friends, Caleb, got married to his fiance Megan. It was a great day spent at the golf course they chose for their venue, as well as in Fish Creek Park for photos. Both Tim and I were even part of the wedding party, which was pretty awesome — not many couples can say they walked down the aisle at their own wedding and at a second one, too! We are super happy for Caleb and Megan, and were really grateful to be so closely involved in their day. A few photos from their wedding, below.

Ah, fall. The season of change. Leaves transitioning into their richest colours, the air retreating from the heat, and sweaters and scarves being unpacked and ready to shine in all their cozy glory. Oh, and pumpkin spice everything (how could I forget). It is incredibly appropriate that some of the biggest life changes yet have taken place right at the easy beginning of fall for Tim and I, too. Returning “home” from our honeymoon meant spending our first night back in the new townhouse we’re renting — piles of stuff everywhere, no seating in sight, suitcase- and cardboard box-encased clothes, and, last but not least, sleeping on an air mattress for a whole week. We didn’t have a lot to come back to, apart from the groceries and little gifts my mom picked up for us while we were gone (bless her), so each day following our return and before school started was filled with buying everything we needed to settle in. Which was a lot.

If memory serves me correctly, we spent two full days in IKEA (maybe three? Four? It’s all a blur) perusing their isles and snagging any unowned items off our wish list to take back to our not-yet-a-home house. I knew we’d need a lot, but I didn’t expect to buy their entire store, like we basically did.

^ Ah, the great shower curtain debate. His choice (the one on the right) was ultimately the winner. ^

^ See? The entirety of IKEA, like I said. And this is just day one. ^

We really didn’t have much of anything when moving in together/getting married. That’s what made it all so fun, though — Tim and I got to experience the headaches/enjoyment of budgeting and assembling and envisioning it all together, for the first time. Before even getting engaged we always had so much fun daydreaming about when we’d go and buy our stuff for the first time. Things we could put in our home to call our own. And now it’s all happening and it was actually pretty surreal, seeing how far we’ve come and everything gushy like that.

This was the scene for about an entire week. When we weren’t out buying more home stuff or getting groceries, we were assembling IKEA furniture! (And watching Disney movies, obviously.) Let me tell you, waking up at 1 a.m. after dozing off to a round-two showing of Frozen while seated in an office chair is so not the situation one imagines when thinking of being married. BUT, I just had to let it go (wink wink) and realize that the back pain would all be worth it when we moved in our amazing steal-of-a-deal couch in a couple days.

^ He is such a handy man. I complained so much and barely did anything. We are opposites. ^

^ Our situation. ^

Praise the Lord for helpful friends. And for muscles. These guys came out in the rain to help Tim move our couch in (cause who am I kidding, I did nothing here) and SERIOUS am I so glad they did. I think I shed a single tear, seeing that couch in our place. We finally had a place to sit and I had a makeshift bed for the next couple days. Buh-bye, air mattress. But really, this couch may be my most favourite thing I’ve ever owned. It is like a cloud and a hug and all good things all at once all the time. I live on it. (But it is a massive chunk to maneuver, so bravo, muscly friends. Bravo.)

^ Excuse me while I happy-cry myself to sleep. We were watching Up and assembling all the things for the unbeknownst evening and we were doing all the same things Carl and Ellie do in the opening scenes of the movie. That part makes me cry on it’s own, let alone at a time like this. It was totally pure Disney (Ripley?) magic. ^

^ As my birthday gift a few months ago, my parents treated us to tickets to see the Lion King! It was such a nice break from the moving in process. It was my third time seeing it (#keener) and Tim’s first, which made it so so fun. Gettin’ cultured over here. ^

And finally, the moving in took a bow and exited the stage with a standing ovation. With that, we were able to do fun things — like baking all the apple crisp and watching The Family Stone — before school started. Somehow we got moved in. It happened, and that’s all I care about.

We also went out to Alberta Theatre Projects‘ showing of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike one night at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Having spent most of my childhood and teenage years dancing in either the Jack Singer Concert Hall or Max Bell Theatre, I had somehow never ventured in the Martha Cohen but WOW am I so glad I did. We both felt like we’d been transported out of Calgary and into Paris (like I’d know what Paris is like though?) — it was so intimate and cozy! We saw the play because one of my courses this semester requires you to see four shows as part of your grade (no complaints here). It was a fun night doing something we probably wouldn’t have spent the money on otherwise and we’re tempted to go to more shows in 2016! And THAT has been the start of our fall season. We’re finally settled into more or less of a groove, with a real home to come back to each day. It’s not easy, I’ll be the first to say that. But blessings galore, I tell you. I am so so thankful for this season, both of life and of fall.

As I type this, I’m watching Home Alone 2. Which is weird because it still feels like September. And anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I don’t officially start doing anything Christmas-related until November 1, so watching this movie actually makes sense because, in the real world, it’s almost December.

The past month and a half has been filled with many ups, many downs and not too many in-betweens. Tonight is the first night (literally) since the middle of October that I’ve had no plans on a single day, and that’s only because the plans I did have fell through. I’m not complaining — the past little while has held the theme of deepening relationship with all the people around me. Maybe it’s a sign that these new relationships, and the strengthened older ones, are here to stay for a long time. That’s how it feels. Like I’ve been unintentionally busy with all these friends and family because they’re helping me get through those lows I talked about earlier, and just making the highs higher.

Lately I’m realizing more than ever that, no matter what, day in and day out, time will pass and it pauses for nothing. Time will move on no matter what I do, so I might as well make the most of my daily average moments. When it feels like a day will never end, I can remember that it actually will. Duh, Leanne. But really. Life can be hard and I need to remember I’ll never be stuck anywhere for too long, especially if I’m putting in the effort to move forward. But with this comes the feeling of all days meshing into one big long blurry day. And who wants to remember that? Not me. So I’ve also found it helpful to remember the highlights of a week after it passes to remain content and thankful and in a good place as much as I can.

Some of those highlights this month were in October, when my good friend Jordan and her fiancé Andrew tied the knot. Tim and I were lucky enough to be there for their whole celebration and it was such a classy, comfortable, beautiful time. You could just see how meant-to-be those two are, which is exactly how a wedding should be. Jordan and I spent one summer working at an engineering company together, so seeing her out of our daily duties and in the jaw-dropper that was her wedding dress was something I’ll remember for a long, long time.

Another thing that has changed a lot lately is my relationships with a group of people from my church. Every two weeks, a big group of us meet at a couple’s house for dinner to eat (our faces off), play cards (to the death) and just get to know each other better. The second I walk out the door on those Sunday nights I’m already looking forward to the next one. Some of the people there have graced me with crepe days on a monthly basis, too. A group of us get together to hang out in the morning on a weekend and make crepes. Pretty simple, but I wouldn’t trade those times for anything. It’s rare you can laugh that hard and be that real with people and still want to see them again as much as possible! Ha. Let’s hope they feel the same about me.

Getting closer to Tim’s family has been a huge plus this fall. I spent Thanksgiving with them and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. A group of us are all around the same age and it makes hanging out at family events something I think I’ll actually start looking forward to, since I’ve always just been the youngest amongst a lot of “adults”! Also, Nevaeh really is the life of the party at these things and you can never have a dull moment when she’s there. I feel I’ve been getting to know their family so much better lately and I so value times to just laugh and hang out together.

I love having this little blog to come to and write and post and build community with people. (So please comment and say hi!) It’s a great tool to make non-moments into significant thoughts, rather than having them float around aimlessly in my head. I think focusing on the good is the only way to go, but the not-so-good needs to be recognized, even expected, to help with moving forward. Friends and family have reminded me lately that life really is beautiful. As always, thanks for stopping by!